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Ring Psychology

by Aaron Hall

Volume Two: You talking to me, punk? Writing, like any other artistic or creative undertaking, is far from an exact science. I in no way believe myself to be a master of the game or a voice of authority on the dos and don’ts of writing. This column is simply me sharing with all of you some of the things that I’ve picked up along the way that seem to help me out. Use them, abuse them, make fun of them, or sell them on eBay. Now, on to the article! “You talking to me, punk?” Have you ever listened to yourself on a recording or a home video? Most people are embarrassed when they hear their voice on tape, I know I am. It’s disconcerting to hear because it goes against our self image. Everyone has the same reaction. “That’s not really what I sound like is it?” Admit it, you’ve done it. Come on, we’re all friends here. As a writer, nothing gives me fits more than writing dialogue. It’s the number one toughest thing for me. I find that most of the time my characters speak like people from an English text book. Which means they speak with good grammar and sentence structure, but not with a whole lot of personality. As I’ve matured as I writer, I’ve noticed this more and more. So, I did what every good writer does when he needs help. I stole. Now, don’t go dialing up the intellectual property cops just yet. Basically, I studied some of my favorite characters from television and film and just really paid attention to how they spoke. When you really pay attention, everyone speaks a different way. The speed at which we talk, our vocabularies, the way we construct sentences. There are tons of factors that make one persons way of speaking drastically different from another persons. So now I take each of my characters and I just think about it. Where did they grow up? What type of people are they around most? How educated are they? How “hip” are they? By asking some of these basic questions and adding in some of the speaking habits of my favorite film and television characters I can find a distinctive voice for my characters. Think about it this way. Think of Denzel Washington. Now think of the way his character spoke in Training Day vs. the way his character spoke in John Q. Being a great actor he was able to voice the characters drastically differently, helping you believe you were watching characters instead of Denzel Washington. Now, think of Vin Diesel. Now think of the way his character spoke in XXX vs. the way his character speaks in… well every other movie he’s ever been in. To me that’s the difference in going the extra mile to give your characters a unique voice and just giving them a cookie cutter “English text book” voice. So let’s review. With a little thievery and a whole lot of ingenuity you too can give personality to your created characters. Until next time, this is your attending physician and fourth place finisher in the Miss USA 2005 pageant Aaron Hall, signing off. If you have any questions or comments about creating comics feel free to email them to freejenkins@gmail.com and I’ll answer them right here in this very column because yes, I care about you that much.